Marsh Monitoring Program - Contact and Route Information

Transcription

1 Marsh Monitoring Program - Contact and Route Information Please complete and return original but keep a photocopy for your own reference. Year 2 0 Marsh (choose only one) Fresh water Brackish water Salt water Corrections Section A: Is the contact information above correct? Yes No If No, please provide the correct information in the "Corrections" box to the right Is there at least one station of your route that is regularly inundated by the waters of the St. Lawrence River, such as the tide? Do not consider the affluent rivers of the St. Lawrence as being part of the St. Lawrence River. What is the status of your route this year? same as last year modified from last year new route If this is a new or changed route, please provide the information in Sections B & C. Alternatively, please mark station locations directly onto a copy of a standardized topographic map and return a copy with your data, (detailed instructions provided below). If this is not a new or modified route, please do not fill out Sections B and C. If you change station locations please do not re-use station identifiers. Section B: Route Information Route/Marsh Name: Yes No Closest town to route: Province Section C: Station Information From GPS Web or Topographic Map (Note: If you are unable to provide this information, then leave this section blank, but do send us a map). Identifying Locations of Stations If you did not receive a copy of a topographic map with your training kit, please contact us and we'll send you one. Be sure to give us enough details so we can find the general location of the marsh. Once you have your map, go at your survey site and identify the best you can the locations where you'll conduct your surveys (i.e. focal points). Keep a copy of the map for your reference and return the original with your data

2 Marsh Monitoring Program - Contact and Route Information Identifying Stations Identify your stations using capital letters, usually "A" through "H". If you abandon a station do not re-use its station ID. For example, if your original route had five stations (A-E) but you abandon C because of noise levels, feel free to "replace" it but call the new station F. Remember that stations must be surveyed in the same order at each visit. If your survey order is not sequential (e.g. DCBA instead of ABCD), please send us a note so we can consider this information. Providing Coordinates Coordinates can be obtained from topographic maps, from computer-generated mapping programs or from a Geographic Positioning System (GPS). You can provide coordinates in UTMs or in Latitude and Longitude. In all cases, let us know whether the information came from the most recent North American Datum (NAD) 83 or the older NAD 27 maps, because the coordinates are different between the two-grid systems. The NAD is always provided on topographic maps, usually in small print at the bottom of the map (e.g., North American Datum 1927). Determining Coordinates Using a GPS If you have a GPS unit, record the location while you are on site. Set the device to NAD 83, and record the UTM Zone, all 6 digits of the Easting and all 7 digits of the Northing. If your GPS unit gives you 7 Digits for Easting, do not record the leading "0". For example, if your GPS gives you: UTM , you will write 13 for the Zone, for Easting and for Northing. Alternatively, record the Latitude and Longitude. When You're Done... Copy your data forms and map for your own files, then return all originals by 31 July to: Bird Studies Canada Québec Marsh Monitoring Program , avenue d'estimauville Québec (Québec) G1J 0C3 Please do not fold the originals Please use the return envelope provided

3 Visit 1 Visit 2 Station (A-H) Day Month Cloud Cover (0-10) Marsh Monitoring Program - Bird Route Summary Form Year 2 0 *Please print with BLOCK CAPITALS, remain within the boxes and mark each individual choice by filling in the corresponding circle. Please use pen (not felt tip). Beaufort Wind Scale Station Start Time (24h) Temperature Number of Stations C Background Noise Code (0-4): FOCAL SPECIES Species code Before/After Survey Period min. 0-1 min. 1-2 Responded During: (please fill choice circle) min. 2-3 min. 3-4 min. 4-5 LEBI min. 5-6 SA min. 6-7 VIRA min. 7-8 MOOT min. 8-9 PBGR min min Position Outside Codes Pied-billed Grebe - PBGR American Bittern - AMBI Least Bittern - LEBI Yellow Rail - YERA Virginia Rail - VIRA Sora - SA Common Moorhen - COMO American Coot - AMCO Am. Coot/C. Moorhen - MOOT Comments: OTHER SPECIES Species name Great Blue Heron Wood Duck Mallard Ring-billed Gull Black Tern Mourning Dove Belted Kingfisher Eastern Kingbird American Crow Tree Swallow Marsh Wren American Robin Yellow Warbler Common Yellowthroat Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle American Goldfinch # Observed* 0-5min 5-10min 10-15min Out.** Species name Species Code * #Observed = The number of individuals observed and/or flying actively (foraging) over the station. **Out. = Outside (species seen or observed outside the station or seen flying through without landing.) # Observed* 0-5min 5-10min 10-15min Out.**

4 Day A Month B Marsh Monitoring Program-Habitat Description Form % of major habitats in 100 meter radius station area herbaceous emergent vegetation cover: large patches of open water/floating plants: unknown natural/protected area exposed mud/sand/rock: not applicable trees: shrubs: none slight moderate dense C Wetland Permanency (fill in one) permanent semi-permanent D Overall marsh size (fill in one) E Please print with BLOCK CAPITALS, remain within the boxes and mark each individual choice by filling in the corresponding circle. Please use pen (not felt tip). Year 2 0 tiny small medium large huge Station (A - H) Total: Floating plant cover in open water zones (fill in one) seasonal Area within 100 meters behind you is mainly (fill in one) wetland field forest urban F Human influences affecting sample area (fill in one or more) none dykes channels roadside sewage lagoon urban pollution industrial agriculture Note: These must sum to 100% Compass Direction G Step 1: Identify the herbaceous emergent plants that dominate the station (see section A). Step 2: Of the total percent emergent herbaceous vegetation cover, select the top 4 and estimate the percent of their contribution. cattail (Typha).. reeds (Phragmites and Phalaris)... grasses and grasslike sedges... rushes/bulrushes (Juncus/Scirpus) purple loosestrife (Lythrum).. flowering rush (Butomus). arrowhead (Sagittaria) smartweed (Polygonum).. bur-reed (Sparganium)... wild rice (Zizania)... pickerel weed (Pontederia)... Dominant Emergent Vegetation Note: - Sums of percentages must equal or be less than 100%, never more. - Please DO NOT include woody (eg. shrubs) or floating (eg. waterlily) plants in this section 100 m SKETCH MAP O F KEY HABITAT FEATURES 100 m Landmark:

5 Some Useful Reminders You do not need to access the entire station area to describe the habitat. Merely stand at the focal point and record what you see within the bounds of the 100 m radius station area. The values you provide are estimates only and you don't need to spend a lot of time trying to calculate actual percentages. See the Marsh Monitoring Program Training Manual for additional details. Completing the left-hand side of the form (Sections A through F) A Scan the 100 m radius sample area. Estimate the percent of the total area that is covered by emergent vegetation, open water (including floating plants), exposed mud/sand/rock, trees, and shrubs. These values must add up to 100%. Definition: "open water" includes any and all pools of water that are at least the size of a standard sheet of plywood (4 x 8 ft). It supports little if any emergent vegetation. However, it may contain floating plants. As a rule of thumb, if you could float a small canoe in it (and maybe even paddle around a little), it is probably "open water." B C D Look again at the open water zones. Categorize the amount of floating plant cover. If there is no open water, fill in the circle for "not applicable." Slight: less than 25%, moderate: 26-50%, dense: greater than 50%. Wetland permanency is categorized according to the following definitions: permanent - almost never dries up; water is usually quite deep (knee to chest deep). Tidal marshes in the St. Lawrence River should be identified in this category. semi-permanent - can dry up in some years of low precipitation (or if water level is periodically drawn down); water is usually fairly shallow (not much more than knee deep) seasonal - usually flooded in spring and early summer, but tends to dry up in late summer or in dry years. Even when flooded, the water is shallow (not much more than calf deep) Estimate the size of the entire contiguous marsh complex, excluding large bodies of navigable water like lakes and bays. For your information, one hectare (about 2.5 acres) measures 100 meters x 100 meters (e.g. a "tiny" marsh). 100 hectares is 1000 meters x 1000 meters (e.g. a "huge" marsh). tiny - between 1.5 and 2.5 hectares (3.5-6 acres) small - between 2.5 and 5 hectares (6-12 acres) medium - between 5 and 25 hectares (12-60 acres) large - between 25 and 50 hectares ( acres) huge - greater than 50 hectares (>125 acres) E Classify the land use (to 100 m) behind you as you face the station area. Choose only one category. F Identify the obvious human influences that may be affecting the station area. Choose as many categories as you think apply. Completing the right-hand side of the form (Section G) G The Dominant Emergent Vegetation Box The estimates you make in this section are based on the total area covered by herbacous emergent vegetation only (ignore open water/floating plant and shrub/tree zones). Scan the area and decide which kinds of herbaceous emergent vegetation dominate the area. Limit yourself to the top four most common species. Of the total herbaceous emergent vegetation cover, what proportions do each of these dominant plants occupy? (Because less-common plants may be present, the dominants do not need to add up to 100%). In some marshes, virtually all of the herbaceous emergent vegetation may be represented by a single dominant species (e.g. cattail = 100%) or by a couple of species (e.g. cattail =75%, grass = 20%). If so, you don t need to list any species in the Dominant Emergent Vegetation box. As a general rule of thumb, any species that accounts for less than about 10% of the cover really can t be considered as a dominant. If a dominant species is not listed in the box, list it under (be sure it is herbaceous (non-woody) and emergent (not floating). If you can t identify it, take your best guess, followed by a question mark (e.g. "Milkweed? = 25%"). Quebec